What Makes a Hero?
by EvekiClival
Summary: What is it be like to be a mutant in New York City? Better yet what if those mutants were thieves? But just because they steal things, does that make them evil? OCs and Turtles. Will eventually be OCXLeonardo.
1. Family

"You in position yet?"

"Almost."

"Shadow, you might want to eighty-six that. Up north." Shadow turned and saw pink blaster bolts firing into the sky.

"Cancel that order Snipe. Everyone, we're going to crash that party."

"If it's worth crashing."

The four shades of the night met on two buildings overlooking an alley where four turtles were fighting robots.

"Looks like the krang are trying to replace us."

"Think we should help?"

Shadow pulled out a camera. "Not until we know how to fight them." She pointed to the four turtles. They watched for an hour as the krang droids slowly started losing.

"They're pretty good." Xeil said.

"But we can be better." Bullet said.

"Let's go." Shadow said as the terrapins started running down the alley. "Keep to the shadows." All four female mutants ran along the building, eyes never leaving the turtles backs. "Hold." Shadow said through the com as the turtles stopped over a manhole cover. They took it off and climbed down.

"Looks like we have neighbors." Snipe said.

"Bullet, you have the scent?" Shadow asked her sister as they climbed down to street level.

"Yeah. Do you want to go down yet?"

"Give it five minutes. We don't want them to hear us." The girls took the time to put away their gear in their belts and packs. "Going down?" Shadow asked as she lifted the manhole cover.

Xeil jumped down first. The sabertooth tiger landed cat-like at the bottom. Snipe went next, careful to keep her owl wings close to her body, so as not to lose any feathers. Bullet jumped third, the snake slithering down the ladder. Her sister, Shadow threw the manhole in the air and jumped down. She splashed down as the hole made a clanging sound above. "Which way?" Xeil asked.

Shadow and Bullet flicked their tongues out, tasting the air. "This way," they said in unison pointing to the North tunnel. The four girls worked through the sewers, Shadow and Bullet in the lead.

Shadow held up her hand to signal a stop. She could hear people talking and laughing. Shadow peeked around the corner. "We found their home." she whispered.

They turned and ran back to The Cave. When they entered the old water treatment plant Shadow yelled, "Agony! Regret!"

"Yeah?" two scaly five-year-old faces poked out from one of the upper doors.

"Come down, we've got food."

"Oh boy!" Agony squealed and ran down to her sister, Regret right behind her. Shadow turned to put her bag on the counter, which was a mistake. She had almost made it when two little things tackled her and they giggled.

"Why you little-" Shadow pushed her little siblings off. "Oh no, I think I've become a zombie. Rawr!" Agony and Regret started running, laughing the whole way. Bullet, Xeil and Snipe had picked up and started chasing the twins. Xeil and Bullet caught them and threw them into the air where Shadow and Snipe caught them and threw them onto the couch. Agony and Regret laughed and giggled, which made their older sisters laugh.

Shadow was the first to disengage from the family fun. Even though only Bullet was related to Shadow by blood, she considered her friends and the twins her family, and legally speaking, Snipe and Xeil were her sisters. She and Bullet had been friends with Xeil and Snipe since they had been born, before the accident. Shadow didn't know what had happened to Agony and Regret, the twins, but she guessed it was similar to their story.

"What are we having for dinner?" Agony asked, jolting Shadow out of her thoughts.

"Well, I was thinking spaghetti would be nice."

"Can I help cook?" Agony's eyes shone hopefully.

Shadow smiled. "Of course sweetie."

As Shadow got a pot full of water, she heard the Halo theme coming from the living room. "Xeil's on my team!" Regret yelled.

"Why does he like that game so much? It's so violent." Agony said.

"You know your brother, he wants to grow up too fast." Shadow said, putting the pot on the stove and turning on the burner. "Can you get the boxes of noodles for me?"

"Yep." Agony ran over to the discarded bag. She threw the assorted foods, drinks and other items around the floor until she found two skinny blue boxes. "Found them!" she yelled and brought them over.

"Thank you sweetie." Shadow smiled at the black eyes that gleamed with innocence, love and hope. They could hear shouts, cheers, explosions and gunfire from the family room but the two sisters didn't care. Agony jumped into Shadow's arms and hugged her as tight as a steel band. "Hey, I need to breath kiddo."

"Sorry, I just always miss you guys when you go out." Agony said, loosening her grip but by no means letting go.

"I know Agony." Shadow breathed. "I know."


	2. Games

Later that night, Shadow stared at the ceiling from her hammock. The hammock hung directly above the family room.

She couldn't sleep but she was too tired to do much else but lie in the webbed rope. She looked at her watch and sighed. 5:00 PM. _If I don't do this now, it'll get put off till next week. _She rolled out of the hammock. To anyone watching, they would have thought she was trying to kill herself. The hammock hung forty feet above the hard cement floor. Shadow didn't flinch though, she did this every time she got out of bed. She turned in mid air and landed on her feet. If she had normal bones, they would have broken, but her legs were special. As she went to get dressed and get something to eat, she thought about ideas to improve her robotic legs and arm. She poured coffee into a travel mug and grabbed her favorite breakfast bar, a fudge dipped, chocolate chip granola bar. "Time for some evening fun." Shadow smiled and grabbed her computer bag.

Shadow waded through the sewers, eating her bar and drinking her coffee. When she reached a manhole access ladder, she stored her mug in her bag and climbed up. As she pushed the manhole aside, the late afternoon light blinded her momentarily. She blinked the sun away and hopped out into an alley. Shadow smiled as the sun warmed the scales on her face. "Time to play."

She took to the rooftops. She eventually settled on top of a Best Western and hooked into their wi-fi network. She spent an hour checking e-mail, Memebase and anything else she could think of while she finished her breakfast. Then it was time to get down to brass tacks. She cracked her knuckles as she pulled out her mouse and plugged it into the laptop. She signed into her Steam account and clicked Left 4 Dead 2. She hit the campaign button and settled down for her weekly gaming session.

~I~

_C u l8r._ Shadow typed as the players said their good byes and signed off or went to join other games. Shadow looked at her watch. 9:15 PM. She pulled up her computer calendar but there were no theft, or other plans for tonight. _Guess I should head home and get some sleep._ She thought.

As she packed her bag, she thought about her family's job. She, Bullet, Xeil, and Snipe were the four girls who made up the Venoms, an effective, underground group of theives.

_What about those Krang last night?_ She thought, standing and preparing to head home. Then she caught a familiar scent. _Got nothing better to do tonight. _And she was off like a shot. Shadow quickly realized that the scent was on the rooftops. She picked up the pace and soon the four mutants from the other night were visible. They seemed to be waiting for something. Shadow continued to approach and soon she was on the same roof, hiding in the shadows.

Now that she was up close, Shadow saw that the turtles were about her age, maybe a year or two younger. Each one had a different colored mask and weapons. The red one had a pair of sai. _Either keep distance or keep him off balance._ Shadow thought. Her mother had been a champion in an extensive underground fighting league. She had taught Shadow much about different weapons and fighting styles. The orange one had nun-chucks tucked into his belt. It also looked like the chains could extend and tangle opponents. _Stay close. _was Shadows only thought. The purple clad turtle had a bō-staff. _He might be a worthy opponent._ Shadow thought, placing a hand on her own custom weapon. _Bullet or Xeil would be a better match though. _Then the last one, the blue one, had a pair of katanas strapped to his back. Shadow smirked. _Good thing we know how to fight swords._

She was intrigued as to why they were here and she was going to find out. At that moment, the turtles jumped down the side of the building and Shadow ran to the edge of the roof.

They weren't fighting krang this time though. The turtles were fighting ninjas. Shadow watched as they easily dispatched their enemies. The ninja scattered and the turtles congratulated each other. _Let's see what their really made of. _Shadow thought, and jumped down the side of the building.

She landed in the center of their group and the boys jumped back.

"Who are you?" the blue-masked one asked.

Shadow didn't answer. She calmly reached for her custom sword.

"What is that?" another asked.

Again, she was silent. She just released the two blades from the slick metal hilt. She spun it from her left hand into her right and stanced herself for battle.

"Who are you?" The blue turtle asked.

Shadow's response was an attack.

These boys were quick, Shadow had to give them that, but she matched them blow for blow, parry for parry. The blue and red clad turtles were the stronger for the four turtles, the later more so, but the purple and orange ones were faster and cleverer. They worked well as a team, and tried to find a break in her defenses. As they fought, Shadow decided to go on the offensive. She took her sword in both hands and cracked the hilt into two. She held the now two blades in a defensive grip and attacked. She went after the nun-chuck user, he tried to tangle her swords, but she used that to pull him closer and she kneed him in the gut. Next the bō-staff. She ducked under his swing and kicked him in the chest, sending him flying for ten feet. She blocked as a sai came flying at her head. With out missing a beat, she used her blade to throw the sai back at it's owner. The sai caught the edge of its owner's mask and then thunked into the wall. She turned and looked at the last one.

"Who are you?" he asked again, glaring,

She grinned. "Call me Shadow." and, using her super powered robot legs, she propelled herself back to the rooftops and disappeared into the night.


	3. Making Science!

"Where have you been?" Bullet asked as Shadow entered The Cave.

"Out playing Left 4 Dead 2."

Bullet flicked out her tongue. "What's that smell?"

Shadow allowed herself a small smirk. "What smell?"

Bullet stood from the couch and approached her sister. She flicked her tongue in and out. "Smells like reptile and sewer." Bullet's eyes widened. "You saw those turtles again."

"And fought them." Shadow added.

Bullet just shook her head. "Did you give them your name?"

"Sure. After I whoop'd their asses."

Bullet grinned. "You're impossible sometimes. You know that?"

"I know." Shadow said, jumping up to her hammock. Seven feet above the net was a stone ledge where Shadow kept her dresser, desk and book shelves. She pulled herself up and set her computer on the desk and plugged it into the charging cord.

"Shadow?"

"Be right there Regret." Shadow called. She pocketed her 3DS and jumped down to the floor. "What's up?" she asked her little brother.

"Can you train with me?" Regret asked.

"I don't know. Is your arm better?"

Regret tried to hide his bruised and scabbed left arm. "Yes."

Shadow smiled and gave him a hug. "Just a couple more days buddy. It's your own fault you're injured." Regret mumbled something. "I don't care if you think it was a cheep shot. I've seen it used so you better learn how to protect yourself." Regret mumbled again. "If you want we can do some math lessons."

"No thanks." he practically shouted as he darted up to his and Agony's room.

Shadow chuckled and threw herself on the couch next to her sister. "So how do they fight?" Bullet asked.

Shadow pulled a video screen up on her left forearm. Somedays she hated the robotic limb, but it did come in handy. She had loaded the video from the other night into her memory card and played the file now. "The red one's the most aggressive. He chucked a sai at my head. I found Routine Delta kept him the most off balance. The purple one knows how to use that staff. I'd prefer you or Xeil fight him. Once you get in close, he's easier to deal with. The orange one is covered in both distance and close melee. Those nun-chucks can extend." Shadow stopped and watched the video.

"And?" Bullet asked.

"And what?"

"What about the blue one?"

Shadow smirked. "Just two blades. Easy. If I wanted to be picky, I'd say Routine Iota."

"So how'd the fight go?" Bullet asked as Shadow closed the file and strolled over to the fridge.

"Pretty simple. I was mostly just testing them." Shadow found a can of root beer and popped the tab. "Where is everybody?"

"Agony wanted to go swimming so Xeil and Snipe took her."

"Why didn't Regret go?"

"Said he wanted to do some math practice."

Shadow coughed on her soda. "He just told me he didn't want to do that." The sisters' eyes met and they ran upstairs. They flanked the bed room door and Shadow grabbed to knob. She mouthed, 1...2...3… and yanked open the door as Bullet rolled in, knives at the ready.

Shadow heard an exasperated sigh then, "Clear."

Shadow entered cautiously and saw Regret sitting in the middle of the floor with Snipe's chem kit. "Really Regret?"

"Agony gets to play with it." he said, pouting.

"Yeah but she understands how the chemicals work and Snipe is always with her." Shadow picked up her brother and set him on his bunk. She climbed up next to him and Bullet did the same. They sat in silence for a moment, Regret crying quietly. "This is the third time this month Regret."

"I know." he sniffed.

"Then why?" Bullet asked.

He was silent. The sisters looked at each other and nodded. They put their arms around their brother and hugged him. He tried to hold back tears, but failed and he buried his face in Bullet's chest. "Agony always gets more attention then me." came his muffled speech.

"That's not true." Bullet said. "It's true that Agony has more instrument and science time practice, but you get more singing and fighting practice."

"So? Her playing and studying take up more time."

"So what do you want us to do Regret?" Bullet asked. Bullet was much closer to Regret than Shadow was, but Shadow was closer to Agony than Bullet.

Regret was silent. "Can I work with the chem kit?"

Shadow and Bullet looked down at the chem kit. There was a dark gooey liquid in one of the test tubes and everything was covered in a fine orange powder. "We can ask Snipe about that, but I don't see why not." Shadow said.

Regret gasped. "You mean it?"

"Of course."

"Thank you. Thank you. Thank you!" As he hugged his sisters.

"No problem kiddo, but you have to make us a promise." Bullet said.

"Anything."

"You have to stick with this for four months. No excuses, no complaints."

"Deal." Regret jumped from the bed and ran out to the main room.

"How long do yo think he'll last?" Shadow asked Bullet.

"Two weeks before he starts complaining." She answered as they jumped down and followed Regret out.


	4. Business as Usual

Shadow sat surveying a man sitting in his expensive office. "He gone yet?" Bullet's voice came though the com.

"No, he's still sitting there." Snipe said, looking through her scope.

"It's been two hours. And where's Xeil?"

"Still hanging under the window." Shadow said, watching as the cat girl clung to the one inch ledge, sixty feet above the ground.

"Why isn't Snipe doing this?" Xeil moaned. "At least if she falls she won't die."

"You lost the coin flip." Snipe said.

"Hey, he's on the move." Shadow interrupted. The business man was collecting his papers in his brief case. In five minutes he had vacated the room. "All clear. You know what to do." Bullet dropped from the vents in the ceiling and opened the window for Xeil while Xeil pulled herself up. "Alright. In and out. I don't want to bale you out tonight

"You don't bale us out most nights." Bullet responded. Shadow watched tensely. If anything did go wrong, it'd be at least a minutes before she could reach them to help.

Xeil pulled out a diamond and scratched it against the glass display case of an ancient katana, cutting a hole big enough to slip out the blade.

"How much are we getting for this?" Snipe asked.

"One million." Shadow said.

"And we sent in the two temperamental ones to secure that much money?"

"Like you said, she lost the coin flip."

Xeil and Bullet had the katana now. "75th?" Bullet asked.

"See you there." Shadow answered. She helped Snipe up and the ran over the roof tops. Out of the corner of her eye, Shadow could see Xeil and Bullet doing the same. They all loved this. The orange haze of the city underneath them, the black sky above and most importantly, freedom. Freedom to do whatever they wanted, freedom to run without being judged and freedom to try and be human again.

Twelve years ago, Shadow and her sister had been mutated. They had been at a local park and took a shortcut home. Shadow and Snipe had been discussing entering first grade soon and weren't paying attention to Xeil and Bullet. The two younger girls had seen a puddle of glowing stuff and thought it'd be funny to throw it at their older sisters. _Was it a bad thing though?_ Shadow mused. She thought about what it'd be like to have a normal life again. She'd be a junior now, maybe she'd even have a boyfriend.

"Hey Shadow, still up for some fun tonight?"

Shadow looked across the way to Bullet and Xeil, who'd stopped and were looking across a couple rooftops. Snipe and Shadow stopped and followed their gaze. The four terrapins were standing three rooftops away. "Not now. Let's just get this job done. I'm sure we'll see them again." Xeil and Bullet jumped down to street level and continued to 75th.

They all arrived at 75th without incident and followed it down to Central Park where they waited in the thick trees for their buyer. "They're here," Bullet said just as five men in ninja grab dropped from the surrounding trees and a giant mutant dog man lumbered from the streets. Bullet handed Shadow the blade and Shadow approached the dog man. He started to reach for the sword but Shadow stopped his hand.

"The money first." The Dog man snarled but snapped his fingers and one of the ninja pulled out a brief case and gave it to Snipe. "Check it." Snipe opened it and did a quick count. Shadow looked back and Snipe nodded, all the money was there. "Alright here you are. Just as promised." Shadow handed the dog man the sword. "Now, if that's all, we'll be leaving."

"Just one more thing," the dog man said in a deep, gruff voice. "Since you were the first out of five teams to retrieve this, my master would like to offer you another job."

"What kind of job?" Shadow asked.

"A kid napping. We want you to find these five." He handed her a packet of photos. "We want them alive. Should any of them die, you'll pay in kind."

Shadow looked at the photos. "We'll do it under one condition."

The dog man raised an eyebrow.

"What is our employer's name?"

"You may call him the Shredder."

"And you?"

"Bradford,"

Shadow smirked. "You've got yourself a deal Brad."

Bradford nodded and he and his ninja disappeared into the night.

"So who are we hunting?" Bullet asked.

"Look for yourself."


	5. Do your Job

"On your left!"

"I got 'um."

"You effing camper!"

"Guys I'm pinned!"

Shadow, Snipe, Bullet and Xeil were playing their weekly Left 4 Dead 2 match. They each had a computer out and were finishing the final level.

"Helicopter's here!" Shadow said, standing next to it and waiting for everyone to get in, covering them with her combat shotgun. They made their way quickly and Shadow was about to follow when a smoker grabbed her and the game ended, saying she had died. "That's BS!" Shadow yelled as the credits rolled.

"No those are zombies." Xeil said.

"Don't worry, we'll always remember you Shadow." Bullet said.

"Who?" Snipe asked.

"Alright that's enough. We need to get this job started."

"O.K." They shut down their computers and grabbed their bags.

"Let's go. Agony, Regret, stay in your room."

"K. Be safe." Agony said, hugging each of her sisters.

"Can I come?" Regret asked, also hugging everyone.

"Sorry buddy, not tonight." Bullet said. "We'll see you in a couple hours." The older sisters watched the twins climb the stairs and close their bed room door.

Xeil grinned a toothy smile. "Time for the hunt."

"You got the binders?" Shadow asked Xeil.

"Yep," She said, pulling out five pairs of reenforced hand cuffs.

"O.K. You two go first and start looking," Snipe and Xeil nodded and ran out. Bullet stood at her sister's shoulder.

"When are we meeting Shredder?" She asked.

"Midnight. Five hours."

"Better hurry then." They walked out and made their way to the surface.

"Have you two seen anything yet?" Shadow asked through the com as she dropped the man hole cover back on the man hole.

"Not yet." Xeil said.

"Yes. North Central Park. We should hurry." Snipe whispered.

"Coming." Bullet, Shadow and Xeil said.

Bullet and Shadow took to the roof tops. "Race ya." Bullet said taking off running.

"Not today little sis." Shadow yelled, running after her. They laughed and yelled as they jumped across fifty and sixty foot drops. They stopped on a building looking over the North end of Central Park. Xeil joined them and pointed to the trees where they could see a red light blinking at them. Shadow blinked a green light from her bag back at it. "Open your com."

Snipe responded by opening a video and vocal link. The video appeared on Shadow's arm and Xeil and Bullet crowded around her.

"Are you sure about tonight?" one of the turtles asked.

"April needs some time to practice out side and we're ready if anything happens."

"Yeah right." Bullet murmured.

"O.K., that's good Snipe." Shadow said and the feed shut down. "Xeil, I want you in the trees. Bullet and I will draw them to you."

"You got it boss." and Xeil jumped off the side building and rode the drain pipe to the ground.

"Let's go, and remember, make as much noise as possible."

Bullet grinned. "Think it'll work?"

"I'm confident." And they both slid down the drain pipe. Once on the ground they made a beeline for the trees, made a quick scent check to mark which direction to go and proceeded to argue while walking towards their targets.

"I'm telling you, they're this way. I saw them earlier."

"For all you know they could've left."

"I can still smell them."

"Really? I'm amazed you can smell anything over your own breath."

"I'm this close to stabbing one of your eyes out."

"Just try."

"Freeze!" In a moment, Bullet and Shadow were surrounded by the four turtles. There was also a girl with them now; the girl from the pictures Bradford had given Shadow. "Who are you and what are you doing here?"

Bullet didn't even bother to say anything, she just lunged at the blue masked turtle. Before she could touch him though, the red turtle tackled her and pinned her to the ground.

"Real smooth Bullet." Shadow said, raising her hands in surrender. Bullet was still trying to break free but to no avail. "Listen boys, there's no need to get violent, you out number us."

"Who are you?" the blue turtle asked again, pointing one of his katana at Shadow's neck.

"Do you realize how much you sound like a broken record?" She asked. "Don't you remember me?"

"Why don't you refresh our memory," the purple turtle said.

"Well that's my sister Bullet, and I'm Shadow. Remember? The girl who beat you up a couple nights ago?" Shadow was satisfied to see in their eyes that they did remember her.

"Give us one reason why we shouldn't just finish you here?" The red turtle said, hauling Bullet up, but locking her arms behind her. Shadow could now see that he was a lot stronger than she'd first thought.

"Because your heroes and heroes don't kill people. Also we were sent to kidnap you but we could be persuaded to give you information."

"Really?" The blue turtle asked. He lowered his sword and Shadow's eyes darted to the trees.

"Sure." Then four things happened very quickly. Shadow lunged at the blue turtle, her fangs exposed, and bit him it the neck. Bullet, using her incredibly flexible neck turned her head enough to bite the red turtle. Snipe dropped from one of the trees, right in between the purple turtle and the girl and jabbed them in the necks with needles, which were filled with poison from Bullet and Shadow. Xeil did the same as she dropped from a tree near the orange turtle. All five of the Venoms' victims were out cold.

"With time to spare." Snipe said.

"Let's cuff 'um and get to the meeting point." Each of the girls picked up a turtle by the handcuffs and slung them over their shoulders. Xeil also picked up the girl. "Sure you can handle all that weight?" Bullet asked.

"She's a stick. I'll manage."

"Come on, before anything else can happen." Shadow said.

With their charges on their backs, the sisters made their way out of the park, scaled a nearby building and headed East over the roof tops. They didn't run so the trip took about forty-five minutes.

"Nice place," Bullet said sarcastically as they climbed though a broken window of a warehouse, the place the Shredder had said to meet him.

"It just has to serve a purpose." Shadow said, setting down her charge on a higher level self of warehouse. Her sisters did the same. "Xeil, Bullet, you watch them. Snipe, head up to the roof, keep an eye out for the Shredder."

"What are you gonna do?" Bullet asked.

"Work on our next step." Shadow said and they each hunkered down to do their job.


	6. Do we have a Deal?

Four hours later, the turtles started to stir. "What happened?"

"Something you didn't expect."

"You call yourself ninja?"

"Bullet, Xeil, stop taunting the prisoners." Shadow called in a bored tone.

"Shadow, they're here." Snipe said through the com.

"Alright, come on in. Xeil, Bullet, bring 'um down!" two turtles flew over the shelf and hit the ground hard. "I meant carry them!" Shadow yelled, exasperated.

"You didn't specify." Bullet said as she carried two more turtles down and Xeil brought the girl.

Snipe flew in through the window. "Open the door." Shadow said, and Snipe rolled up the sliding door. Ninja rolled in and surrounded most of the room. Bradford and a fish man with robotic legs came in next. Shadow couldn't help but think how similar they looked to her legs, only hers were better grafted to her body. The fish and Bradford were leading in a man, in wicked looking armor, and a girl, in smother, more fluid looking armor. The man and girl stood in front of Shadow.

"So you're the Shredder?" Shadow asked. "Some how I imagined you'd be taller." The armored man glared at Shadow though the holes in his face mask. "No need to get upset. I just enjoy harassing my clients first time I meet them. As you can see," Shadow took a step back and gestured to her captives. "Four mutant turtles and a teenaged girl." The Shredder took a step forward. "But before that," Shadow stepped in front of him. "We get paid."

It almost looked like he was smirking under his face mask. "It does seem like they came in healthy condition." The girl behind him stepped forward and handed Shadow a briefcase. Shadow took it and tossed it to Snipe. Snipe opened it and nodded to Shadow that all the money was there.

"Well now that that's settled, we have a little extra something we'd like to throw into this deal." Shadow snapped her fingers and Xeil and Bullet stepped towards the prisoners. They were holding five needle. Bullet and Xeil jabbed one needle into each of the captives and the captives went limp. "They'll still answer questions, but they won't be able to move or fight back." Shadow explained. "If there's nothing else, my sisters and I will be going." And Shadow turned her back on Shredder to walk towards her sisters, who were gathering around the turtles.

As she turned, she sensed something coming at her head and she ducked into a roll. She came up right in front of the turtles and turned to see that the armored girl had just tried to decapitate her. "Bad move." said Bullet, who was now holding flash-bang.

Shadow looked back at her. "Do it."

Bullet threw down the flash-bang which exploded with blinding flash of light and an ear shattering noise. Shadow, Xeil, Bullet and Snipe used this to each grab a turtle and escape. Snipe was out first with the money, a turtle and the girl. Xeil and Bullet took one turtle a piece, leaving Shadow to cover the retreat and grab the last one. Once on the roof top, Shadow yelled, "Snipe fly home. Xeil, Bullet, take the cycles and get them some where safe, and I'll take Dog." They all split and as Shadow ran over the roof tops, she let out a high pitched whistle. She heard the response of a deep rumbling bark. She grinned and jumped to street level where a huge monster of a dog was barreling at her at full speed. As he got closer, Shadow jumped and landed on his back. "Hold on." She said to her passenger, the blue turtle, as she wrapped a pair of reins around her hand.

Dog was just that; Shadow and her family's pet dog. He normally roamed New York by himself, but when ever he heard a whistle, he'd come running. Shadow had also made a collar for him that had a set of reins so someone could steer as this five-hundred pound dog ran through the streets.

Shadow looked behind her and saw Shredder's ninja following her. "Dog, head to the river." He barked and took a sharp right. They continued to run and then Shadow saw it, she jerked the reins and ran Dog strait towards the water. Dog skidded to a halt but Shadow used her forward momentum to launch herself and the turtle into the water. Before they jumped she said, "Hold your breath." Icy cold water surrounded her. She wasn't too worried about Dog, he'd probably eat some of those ninja. All she had to worry about was getting herself and the turtle to safety. She hooked his handcuffs to her belt and started swimming in search of a sewer pipe. After a little ways though, she realized she was getting lightheaded. She rummaged though her bag quickly and pulled out a small tank of oxygen with two rebreathers. She put one in her mouth and sucked in the condensed air. She took the other and fitted it into the blue turtle's mouth. As she worked Shadow locked eyes with him. They were as blue as his mask but right now they were glaring at her. _Yeah, you're welcome for saving your life. _She thought. After wrestling the rebreather into his mouth Shadow started swimming again. She stayed near the bottom of the river and followed it towards the shore. Her head broke the surface and she saw a small pipe dead ahead. She ducked back under the water and kept swimming. Once under the pipe, she kick off from the bottom, grabbed the edge of the pipe and hauled her self and the turtle in. Shadow tucked the oxygen tank into her bag, unclasp the handcuffs from her belt, and carried the turtle deeper into the tunnel until she found a spot that looked safe to stop. She set the turtle down, leaning him against the wall and she collapsed next to him. "Here." She said, pulling out another needle and stabbing it into his neck. His muscles tightened and after Shadow took the needle from his neck he lunged forward, but Shadow caught him by the back of his shell and yanked him back. "Just sit." Shadow panted. "You're safe."

"Says the girl who just drugged and kidnapped me and my brothers and tried to sell us to our worst enemy." He retorted.

"Do you really think we would have given you to him?" Shadow asked. Her eyes were closed and she was trying to slow her breathing.

"Well…"

Shadow snorted. "I really thought you were better at reading people." They sat in silence. After a couple minutes Shadow opened her eyes, pulled a key from her bag and undid the hand cuffs. "By the way, what's your name?"

"Leonardo." He said, rubbing his wrists. "Where are my brothers and April?"

"Well I know the girl and one of your brothers are at my home." She said, standing up. Leonardo followed her. "I don't know about the other two, but I know their safe. My sister won't let anything happen." Shadow flicked her tongue in and out. "Come on. I'm amazed they haven't found us yet and I don't want to push our luck." Shadow started wading trough the wet tunnels.

"Where are we going?" Leo asked.

"To my home. We need to regroup."

Leo stopped walking. "How do I know I can trust you?"

"I just saved your life didn't I?" She stopped to face him. "I could have just left you there with Shredder, but I didn't."

"Still, I don't think I trust you."

"Good, you don't have a reason to; I'm just telling you you can. If you come with me, you'll see your brothers, I promise,"

Leo looked at her skeptically but said, "Fine,"

"Good man, now let's go," They continued on, Shadow scent checking the whole way. They finally made it to The Cave and found a turtle, a girl and Snipe sitting and having hot cocoa.

"Good you made it back," Snipe handed Shadow a cup of coffee. "What do you want?" she asked Leo.

"I'm O.K."

"It's not optional," Shadow said, sitting next to Snipe.

"We have tea, coffee and cocoa," Snipe said, pouring hot water into a cup.

"Um, I'll take tea."

"O.K." Snipe picked up a tea bag and dunked it in the steaming water. "Here you go." Leo took the cup and sat next to his brother. "So this is...?"

"Leo," Leo said, taking a sip.

"I'm April," said the girl.

"Um, Donnie," Said the turtle next to Leo. He was wearing a purple bandana.

"So Snipe, ten bucks says we've got at least one black eye tonight." Shadow said.

"I'll take some of that. You guys have a violent brother right?"

"Yes," Leo and Donnie said.

"Any one home?" Xeil yelled, coming in with the orange turtle.

"No, go away," Shadow called, "Which reminds me; Agony! Regret! It's O.K. You can come down."

The twins opened the door and peeked out. "Come on," Snipe said waving them down, "We've got cocoa," They didn't need any more persuasion. They barreled down the stairs and hurtled over the couch onto their sisters.

"Bullet not back yet?" Xeil asked, taking a cup of tea.

"No. By the way, these are my sisters Xeil, Snipe and Agony and this is my little brother Regret. Agony, Regret, this is Leo, Donnie, April and," Shadow looked at Xeil.

"Mikey."

"What do you want Mikey?" Snipe asked.

"Cocoa please,"

"You try that again and you'll lose a finger!"

"Bullet's back," Shadow said taking a big drink of coffee.

Bullet came into the entrance, the turtle she had saved slung over her back. She looked pissed.

"You have fun?" Xeil asked.

"Shut it. This idiot tried running back out to street level after I gave him the anti-venom and I had to drug him again." Bullet threw him down on the couch next to his brothers. Snipe looked at Shadow and handed her a ten dollar bill. The turtle did indeed have a black eye. Snipe gave Bullet a cup of coffee while Shadow got up to get more anti-venom.

"So why did you bring us back here?" April asked.

Xeil, Snipe and Bullet looked to Shadow to explain. "Well, if they didn't explain already, I think we have a common goal." Shadow said, injecting the anti-venom into the red turtle's neck.

The turtle's muscles tightened and when the needle came out the red turtle tackled her and started strangling her.

"Raph stop!"

Shadow hooked her feet under Raph's plastron and flung him across the room. Shadow rolled up and stalked towards him, grabbed the back of his bandana and dragged him back to the couch. "Anyway, how would you like some Allies against the Krang?" Agony whimpered and buried her face into Snipe's side at the sound of the name.

"Why do you want to fight the krang?" Donnie asked.

Shadow sat back down and scooped Agony into her arms. Her face was wet. "This is why." Shadow said. "We found Agony and Regret in a krang facility as babies. From what we could gather, the krang were experimenting on them." Shadow looked at a faint scar on Agony's arm. " We don't want them to do this to any other living creature."

"Then why kidnap us to make an offer to help us?" Raph asked.

"Money." Shadow said. "Shredder offered six thousand dollars for all of you. There was no way we could pass that up."

"But we also never would have held up our end of the deal." Snipe said. "We're thieves, not murders."

"We also did it for the lols." Xeil said, giving the turtles a cheshire cat smile. Raph growled at her.

"Look," Bullet started. "We have a common goal, we'd be stronger together and we've got a bunch of krang tech we'd be willing to share with you."

"You do?" Donnie looked excited.

"How do you think we made these?" Shadow asked wiggling her toes and left fingers.

"So what do you say?" Snipe asked.

Leo looked at his brothers and April, all but Raph nodded. "Alright, let's team up," He extended his hand and Shadow shook it.

"O.K. We'll get you out of here, just let Snipe double check that all the toxin is out of your systems." Shadow said as Snipe and Agony got up and walked towards a small door with a red cross on it.

"So how'd you get that black eye?" Regret asked Raph. He'd hopped up and was standing next to the red turtle.

"None of your business." Raph growled.

"Did you get it from Bullet?"

"I told you to buzz off."

"You must not be a good fighter."

Raph swung at Regret, but Bullet was there now and caught the fist an inch away from her brother's face. "You touch him and you die, got it?" Bullet snarled.

"Bullet move." Snipe said. Bullet stepped back and Regret followed, but he was still staring at Raph. "Give me your arm." Snipe said, taking Raph hand and stabbing a needle into his veins.

"Hey!"

"Done, next." Snipe handed Agony the full needle and repeated the process with Leo, Mikey, Donnie and April. Once they had all five blood samples, Agony scurried back the the med lab with Snipe in tow.

Shadow and Xeil had already cleared cups away and were starting something for an early breakfast. It was 1:00 AM after all. They could hear Bullet and Regret in the training room, and the hushed conversing of the turtles, who were still sitting on the couch. Five minutes later Snipe and Agony returned.

"Alright, you guys are good to go." Snipe said. "Shadow, you and Bullet are taking them back?"

"Yep. Bullet!" The was one final thump from the punching bags and Bullet stepped out. "Let's go." Shadow said, heading for the main entrance. The turtles followed and Bullet brought up the rear. They all trudged through the sewers without talking until Shadow remembered, "By the way," she pulled out a scrap of paper and a pen from her pocket and proceeded to scribble her cell number down. She handed it to Leo. "If you get any leads about the Krang, call me."

"Alright. You'll do the same?"

"Don't worry, we will," It wasn't ten minutes before they were at the turtles' lair. "Here we are. Home sweet home."

The turtles pushed past and started yelling for someone named Splinter. Shadow looked at Bullet and the bolted for the nearest man hole access. The scaled the ladder up to street level and then up to the roofs.

"Let's go home." Bullet said.


End file.
